Since the YABDI Ogbomosho project, I have received several calls and enquiries from nairalanders on the production and marketing of Tomatoes profitably in Nigeria.
Hence forth I am going to be writing on my experiences , mistakes, solutions and the way forward as Tomato farmer .
Tomato is a crop that has no enemy. No tribal, cultural, nor religious sentiments about tomato.
Both young and old loves and takes tomatoes.
Tomatoe can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in stew, soup and other delicacies

I ventured into tomatoes production by mistake but I have never regrets it. Infact I keep praying for the person that introduce me to the system. What mistake you wondered.
A friend got an irrigation land from a government agency in Saki area. She told me from an hectare of tomato you can make N10,000,000 in less than 5months.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
That kind money?
Are you sure? I kept repeating and she said yes.
So i delve into it!!!!!!!

DID I MADE THE N10,000,000?
IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE N10,000,000 FROM AN HECTARE OF TOMATO?

HMNMNN
These are the questions you will have to unravelled as we read on

I will start from question 2 first. Keeping question 1 till later date.
Is it possible to make N10,000,000 from an hectare of tomato?

From calculation
An hectare of tomato should yield minimum of 20tonnes from an hectare.
40 tonnes has been achieved in Benin Republic.
Dangote proposed tomato factory recently announced planting a variety that will yield 100 tonnes from the same hectare

Still on calculation
There are two markets for tomato as i classified it
1 The open market
2 The standard market
1. The Open market
a. it has no fixed price.
Price drops drastically during the rainy season and increases astronomically during the dry season
b. Price fluctuates at any time of the day, week or year. A basket sold in the morning for N5,000 may go as low as N2,000 by evening. Its vice versa
c. Requires no quality nor standard. (Tomato is tomato)
d. No standard measurement. Make use of various size of raffia basket. Small, medium and the big ones commonly called the hausa basket.
The small size ranges from 10-15kilo
The medium sizes ranges between 30-35kilo
The big ones(hausa basket) 50kilo and above
e. Every market like Mile 12, Ile epo etc belongs to this group.

Please continue.

Following.....nice!!

2. Standard Market
a. Fixed price. From N100 per kg to N500 per kg
b. Agreement to supply throught the year. No dry or rainy season recognition
c. Request for standard and quality
d. Standard measurement. Buys in kilo
e. Good packaging. plastic crates or cartons with names and tag require
f. Traceability. Source and type of seed use. Farm visits. Quantity of pesticide and insecticides. etc

hotmas911:
Please continue.

Our Landlord. I see you o

Following....one hand on my semolina while my eyes are glued on the thread!

Liferace:
Following.....nice!!

Thank you

jethro2:

Our Landlord. I see you o

sister mi to sure! i am feeling you! for real you are the best.

Now that we understand the different type of market., lets compare price.
For open market
The biggest basket of 50kg and above can go as low as N2,000 and can be as high as N15,000.
Remember there are seasons for this prices which an intending tomato millionaire is suppose to work with.
If a farmer produces tomatoes at suppised 20 tonnes per hectare.
20 tonnes is 20,000 kilo
Big basket of 50 kilo means 400 baskets
During the low price=400×2000 800000
During the high price=400×15,000. please calculate that.
Hmnnnnnnn.
Na sooooo
Na so e easy?
Yes na so e easy for paper calculation oooo

That last calculation was similar to what I got from my friends.
To the question 2
Yes. its achievable
To the question 1
No. I did not make N10,000,000.
Rather I lost all my investment
WHY and HOW?
Part of what i will be writting about.

Mile 12 stand out as the main fresh vegetable market in Nigeria.
Its purely dominated by the Northerners.
Why
90% of vegetables consumed in Lagos are brought in from the North. Virtualy nothing is produced in the. South west.
Lagos alone has over 10,000,000 million people.
Like i earlier said, tomatoes has no enemy. Its consume by all

Well done @ Jetro...

Following you

jethro2:
That last calculation was similar to what I got from my friends.
To the question 2
Yes. its achievable
To the question 1
No. I did not make N10,000,000.
Rather I lost all my investment
WHY and HOW?
Part of what i will be writting about.

.

My dear, listening & sipping agbo with dongoyaro. Original bitter brew before stout was invented.

hmmmm. following this thread with keen interest

Thanks bro. We will sure meet at the end of the month during the workshop.
Keep up the good work

jethro2:
That last calculation was similar to what I got from my friends.
To the question 2
Yes. its achievable
To the question 1
No. I did not make N10,000,000.
Rather I lost all my investment
WHY and HOW?
Part of what i will be writting about.

Its well. I LOVE dis thread its d most realistic i have read in months. Am following with keen Interest.

jethro2:
Mile 12 stand out as the main fresh vegetable market in Nigeria.
Its purely dominated by the Northerners.
Why
90% of vegetables consumed in Lagos are brought in from the North. Virtualy nothing is produced in the. South west.
Lagos alone has over 10,000,000 million people.
Like i earlier said, tomatoes has no enemy. Its consume by all

@jethro2, why do you think mile 12 is dominated by northerners and in extension fresh Produce business in Nigeria and in your own opinion can those fresh produce be grown in South West Nigeria?

My take on the whole issue is that the Lagos markets operates in cartels and tend to control the supply and in extension the price offered to farmers. This is where we need young savvy entrepreneurs to break the cartel and deliver quality, hygienic products at very affordable price.

The mass market remains the key to success in Agri business and I would rather sell 1000 basket a day for 20 naira profit than sell 100 basket a day for 50 naira profit. The money is in the mass market and we need to start seeing it that way and working that way.

Another issue with majority of our farmers is that every produce is heading towards lagos thereby creating a glut in the market which invariably leads to price reduction. There are many cities in Nigeria with less population but with good markets for fresh produce and can offer better prices.

Cheers!

boluwajokosegun:
Well done @ Jetro...

Thank you sir

snowballa:
Following you

Thanks for following

jethro2:
I will start from question 2 first. Keeping question 1 till later date.
Is it possible to make N10,000,000 from an hectare of tomato?

From calculation
An hectare of tomato should yield minimum of 20tonnes from an hectare.
40 hectares has been achieved in Benin Republic.
Dangote proposed tomato factory recently announced planting a variety that will yield 100 tonnes from the same hectare

To be candid, no tomatoes farm will yield 100 tons per hectare unless it is grown in a green house. Dangote farm postulation is just a pipe dream and that is why farmers in Kadawa, Kano refused his seeds and asked him to try it out on his demonstration to see how it works first.

The problem with most young farmers is that they want to become overnight millionaire in farming business! It just does not work that way. We have people who just want to attend a 3 hours seminar and then start their own farm immediately and most times they always fail. They are deceived by those peddling those seminars and when they finally go into it, they find out its not that easy and profitable and they end up frustrated.

Farming is a vocation and it takes time and experience to become very profitable.

jeffmyson:


@jethro2, why do you think mile 12 is dominated by northerners and in extension fresh Produce business in Nigeria and in your own opinion can those fresh produce be grown in South West Nigeria?

My take on the whole issue is that the Lagos markets operates in cartels and tend to control the supply and in extension the price offered to farmers. This is where we need young savvy entrepreneurs to break the cartel and deliver quality, hygienic products at very affordable price.

The mass market remains the key to success in Agri business and I would rather sell 1000 basket a day for 20 naira profit than sell 100 basket a day for 50 naira profit. The money is in the mass market and we need to start seeing it that way and working that way.

Another issue with majority of our farmers is that every produce is heading towards lagos thereby creating a glut in the market which invariably leads to price reduction. There are many cities in Nigeria with less population but with good markets for fresh produce and can offer better prices.

Cheers!

On daily basis not less than 5 trailers enter Mile 12 with tomatoes from the North. The cotonou people are not left out in the supply chain too.
Lagosians are consumers(pardon me ooo Lagos people)
Yes the fresh produce can be grown in the SouthWest. Our soil are fertile than even the soil in the North.

Absolutely right sir. The Mile 12 markets operates like cabals. You have to get in through a Northerners link or no way for you.
Mile 12 market is an eyesore when its come to hygienic.
Each time i supply, within me i know i am sending my produce to be contaminated. Its that bad
Mass markets requires mass production. Where are the producers. Most young people view farm work as an end to a means and not as agribusiness.
What you hear on daily basis is " make quick money and get ou" It does not work that way

There are lots of markets for fresh vegetables in Nigeria. One just need to explore it

jeffmyson:


@jethro2, why do you think mile 12 is dominated by northerners and in extension fresh Produce business in Nigeria and in your own opinion can those fresh produce be grown in South West Nigeria?

My take on the whole issue is that the Lagos markets operates in cartels and tend to control the supply and in extension the price offered to farmers. This is where we need young savvy entrepreneurs to break the cartel and deliver quality, hygienic products at very affordable price.

The mass market remains the key to success in Agri business and I would rather sell 1000 basket a day for 20 naira profit than sell 100 basket a day for 50 naira profit. The money is in the mass market and we need to start seeing it that way and working that way.

Another issue with majority of our farmers is that every produce is heading towards lagos thereby creating a glut in the market which invariably leads to price reduction. There are many cities in Nigeria with less population but with good markets for fresh produce and can offer better prices.

Cheers!

I agree with most of what you've written here. but permit me to dispute a few.

Let me start with the last paragraph that says that most farmers are heading for Lagos market. This sir is a half-truth, the reason being the major farmers of fresh food (the northerners) have a supply chain around the country. The cheapest price for fresh food in lagos is about the most the expensive price for fresh food in the north and it's environs. The major farmers who fill up the Lagos market are small scale/rural farmers. and you don't expect a farmer who harvests 50kg of tomato to take it to a market that is 1,000 km away from him. therefore making Lagos the best option for them to dispose their goods at a reasonable price. Every major city in Nigeria has rural farmers who bring goods to their markets. it might not be the same goods. for example if you farm tomato in the west and you take it to port harcourt to sell, you are sure to make profit. but if you farm plantain and take to port harcourt, you are wasting time, because the Etche people in rivers state are major plantain farmers.

If we cannot have a network where fresh food is collected, with a good preservative system and a chain of distributors around the country, you can't really run away from the major markets close to you.

Its achievable sir.
But not sure we have the seed yet in Nigeria.
The highest i know is Pacesetter farm achieving over 30 tonnes in Saki East LGA. The seed was from South Africa.

You said it all about young farmers. Most are get rich quick. They want you to provide answers to everything. They want to stay in the town and farm.
They love to hear the millions stories.

Agriculture is practical. I have a mentor, an elderly farmers that tells me " You have got to be there to believe"
Farming is passion. Its for the passionate, the determined, the go getters.
Farming is not about having millions to farm. Its about knowing the right thing to do and doing it at the right time
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jeffmyson:


To be candid, no tomatoes farm will yield 100 tons per hectare unless it is grown in a green house. Dangote farm postulation is just a pipe dream and that is why farmers in Kadawa, Kano refused his seeds and asked him to try it out on his demonstration to see how it works first.

The problem with most young farmers is that they want to become overnight millionaire in farming business! It just does not work that way. We have people who just want to attend a 3 hours seminar and then start their own farm immediately and most times they always fail. They are deceived by those peddling those seminars and when they finally go into it, they find out its not that easy and profitable and they end up frustrated.

Farming is a vocation and it takes time and experience to become very profitable.

I am following keenly because I know how important this is to me ATM.

We have been discussing and exchanging ideas on the first type of market which i refered to as Open or general market.
Now the second type of market which I termed standard market.
I first heard of this type of market from the Pacesetter farms.
They produce tomatoes to supply Shoprite at Ibadan at N400 per kilo.
Once in a week they supply 500kg.

Hmmmnn. You wonder
What makes the market unique
1. The packaging and specifications are given by the buyers. Most cases a perforated paper cartons with label such as
1. Name of producers,
2. Day of harvest
3. Size in kilo
4. Weight etc
The tomatoes are also sorted out in Sizes and quality
Like earlier said, this kind of market demands for quality and consistence in supply.
This type of markets are Shopeites, hotels and restaurants, grocery stores, Spars. Eateries etc
Before you can supply, there must have been an agreement signed to be consistence in supply and to always bring quality.

Imagining you having just 10 of those network to supply throughout the year.
With time we may have to so some estimated counting's of all the standard hotels.
52 weeks in a year
500kg for 10 network gives 5000kg
52 multiply by 5000 gives 260,000kg in a year
Then lets assume we get to supply at N200
260,000 multiply by N200.
Do the maths yourself ?
But as usual, its easier said than done
e easy for paper to calculate roi
On a more serious note.
Have you wonder where these group of markets are getting their supply from?
Off course we all know they don't patronize the local farmers.
Nor did they source from mile 12 market
Guess what?
They import.
Import?
Yes vegetables and fruits are daily imported into Nigeria from other African countries

So very sure we were all amazed at the mathematics of making millions from both Open and Standard market. We will now delve into most of the mistakes i made that debar me from achieving my target millions in tomatoes.
I am sure there are a lot of "pinshure or I know believe"
Pictures will still come but i think getting it right is of utmost importance.

please who are the target market for those kind of tomatoes in shoprite and Spa?...and why is it so expensive?

l have always had preference for d standard market option though it involves a lot of work to standardize one's operation bt once u scale through, d reward worths it. l have helped packaged organic strawberry & saw cheques change hands, it worth it!